Lepus arcticus

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Habitat

Ecology: Lepus arcticus requires tundra habitat lacking tree cover . Home range for this species is variable, ranging from 9-290 ha (Murray 2003). L. arcticus is a ground-dwelling species, but will utilize natural shelters or create small dens in the snow to regulate body temperatures (Gray 1993). This species is omnivorous , but it derives the bulk of its nutritional requirements from woody plants (Best and Henry 1994). L. arcticus has an average of one to two litters per year, with an average litter size of five to six (Best and Henry 1994). Gestation is approximately 53 days for this species (Parker 1977). There is uncertainty regarding the breeding season for L. arcticus (Best and Henry 1994). The season may extend from April to mid-September, as inferred from male gonad enlargement (Best and Henry 1994). The total length is 48.0-67.8 cm (Hall and Kelson 1959).[1].

List of Habitats:

•     1     Forest   
  
•     1.2     Forest - Subarctic   
  
•     3     Shrubland   
  
•     3.1     Shrubland - Subarctic   
  
•     4     Grassland   
  
•     4.1     Grassland - Tundra   
  
•     4.2     Grassland - Subarctic   
[more info]

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Aug-2007

The taxonomic status of the Arctic Hare remains unclear, with some authorities suggesting, based on cranial or other morphometric measurements , that they are conspecific with L. othus, and/or L. timidus. L. othus and L. arcticus also are known to share similar behavioural and ecological characteristics yet, L. othus is geographically isolated and possesses different skull and incisor morphology from L. arcticus, and thus may warrant distinct taxonomic status. Wu et al. (2005) suggests that L. arcticus be included in L. timidus as "a single circumpolar species," based on molecular phylogenetics. However, Ben Slimen et al. (2008a) suggest that in the case of genus Lepus, whose evolution is "rapid and to some extent reticulated ," mtDNA should only be regarded as preliminary evidence of species designation of lack thereof. Ben Slimen et al. (2008b) suggest that a more comprehensive examination that examines, "a combined phylogenetic , phylogeographic, and population genetic approach,…, based on various nuclear and mitochondrial markers and including other biological characters, such as phenotypic and morphometric data," would better elucidate taxonomic standing of Lepus species.

There are currently nine recognized subspecies : Lepus arcticus andersoni, L. a. arcticus, L. a. bangsii, L. a. banksicola, L. a. groenlandicus, L. a. hubbardi, L. a. labradorius, L. a. monstrabilis, and L. a. porsildi (Hall 1981). (Ref. 282741).

Similar Species

Members of the genus Lepus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 58 species and subspecies in this genus:

L. alleni (Antelope Jack Rabbit) · L. alleni alleni (Antelope Jack Rabbit) · L. americanus (Snowshoe Rabbit) · L. americanus americanus (Snowshoe Hare) · L. americanus klamathensis (Snowshoe Hare) · L. americanus seclusus (Bighorn Mountain Snowshoe Hare) · L. americanus tahoensis (Sierra Nevada Snowshoe Hare) · L. americanus washingtonii (Washington Snowshoe Hare) · L. arcticus (Arctic Hare) · L. arcticus arcticus (Arctic Hare) · L. brachyurus (Japanese Hare) · L. brachyurus brachyurus (Japanese Hare) · L. californica (Black-Tailed Jack Rabbit) · L. californicus (Black-Tailed Jack Rabbit) · L. californicus bennettii (Black-Tailed Jackrabbit) · L. californicus californicus (Black-Tailed Jack Rabbit) · L. callotis (Beautiful-Eared Jack Rabbit) · L. callotis callotis (Beautiful-Eared Jack Rabbit) · L. callotis gaillardi (White-Sided Jackrabbit) · L. capensis (European Hare) · L. capensis capensis (Brown Hare) · L. castroviejoi (Broom Hare) · L. comus (Yunnan Hare) · L. coreanus (Korean Hare) · L. corsicanus (APPENINE HARE) · L. europaeus (European Brown Hare) · L. fagani (Ethiopian Hare) · L. flavigularis (Tehuantepec Jack Rabbit) · L. granatensis (Iberian Hare) · L. granatensis granatensis (Granada Hare) · L. habessinicus (Abyssinian Hare) · L. hainanus (Chinese Pinyin) · L. insularis (Espiritu Santo Jackrabbit) · L. mandshuricus (Manchurian Hare) · L. microtis (African Savanna Hare) · L. nigricollis (Black-Napped Hare) · L. nigricollis nigricollis (Indian Hare) · L. oiostolus (Woolly Hare) · L. oiostolus oiostolus (Woolly Hare) · L. oistolus (Woolly Hare) · L. othus (Beringian Hare) · L. othus othus (Alaskan Hare) · L. peguensis (Siamese Hare) · L. saxatilis (Savannah Hare) · L. saxatilis saxatilis (Scrub Hare) · L. sinensis (Chinese Hare) · L. sinensis sinensis (Chinese Hare) · L. starcki (Ethiopian Highland Hare) · L. tibetanus (Desert Hare) · L. timidus (Eurasian Arctic Hare) · L. timidus timidus (Arctic Hare) · L. tolai (Tolai Hare) · L. townsendi (White-Tailed Jack Rabbit) · L. townsendii (White-Tailed Jack Rabbit) · L. townsendii campanius (White-Tailed Jackrabbit) · L. townsendii townsendii (Western White-Tailed Jackrabbit) · L. victoriae (African Savanna Hare) · L. yarkandensis (Yarkland Hare)

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Further Reading

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• A list of the generic and family names of rodents / by T.S. Palmer. Washington: Biological Society of Washington, 1897. url p. 254.
• A list of the land and sea mammals of North America north of Mexico. Supplement to the synopsis. By D.G. Elliot. 2 1901 Chicago, 1901. url p. 504.
• A synopsis of the mammals of North America and the adjacent seas, by Daniel Giraud Elliot... 2 1901 Chicago, [Field Columbia Museum]1901. url p. 450.
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• American animals; a popular guide to the mammals of North America north of Mexico, with intimate biographies of the more familiar species, by Witmer Stone and William Everett Cram. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday, Page, 1922 [c1902] url p. 86, p. 88.
• An Arctic ecosystem: the coastal tundra at Barrow, Alaska / edited by Jerry Brown. .. [et al.]. Stroudsburg, Pa.: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross: c1980. url p. 337.
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Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 29, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 3 providers.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
• Lagomorph Specialist Group 1996. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 20, 2008.
• Lagomorph Specialist Group 1996. Lepus arcticus. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org . Downloaded on 21 October 2006.
• Murray, D. & Smith, A.T. 2008. Lepus arcticus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 01February2012.
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 29, 2008:

• Marine Science Institute, UCSB: Paleobiology Database
• Royal Ontario Museum: Mammal specimens
• University of Alaska Museum of the North: University of Alaska Museum Mammal Collection

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 107243
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-727818
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 552511
• IUCN ID: 219147
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: AMAEB03030
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 13314

Footnotes

1. Murray, D. & Smith, A.T. 2008. Lepus arcticus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 01 February 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.